More Insights on Play and Creativity

On 1/16 Wanda shared about how her desire to be creative got waylaid by a need to make a list first; to research all her related craft books, go over all her many project ideas and inventory all her art supplies. Becoming paralyzed by all these items and choices that she felt she should accomplish before actually doing any creating! (read the full entry to know how she 'broke through' at last :-)

I can relate.

I have many self-imposed 'shoulds' to do today - this blog entry being one of them. Some of these shoulds are for work, some are for this adventure, Wanda and I have called, "Drawing Nearer" and some are to actually create artwork for an art show I'm in next week.

So I dutifully made my list and set forth to conquer all that needs to be accomplished before I can go to sleep again this evening. However, when I sit at the computer to get started, my attention is drawn to the scene out the window. One of a very swollen and fast moving stream due to all the rain - its raining now - hard! I remember I need to put mail in the box at the end of our driveway, so I get the mail, slip on my outdoor shoes, grab an umbrella and venture outside in the rain, in my pajamas.

The driveway is long and covered with downed limbs and branches from all the wind. I kick them to the stream side of the yard in a variety of fancy footing (this was fun!) I reach the end of the driveway and a steady flow of water cascades down the hill from around our neighbor's house across our driveway into leaves, sticks and undergrowth and eventually pours over the edge of the road into the stream below. This activity transfixes me and I pick up a stick to brush away some of the leaves and twigs which are creating little dams, pooling up the water, impeding its flow.

With umbrella repositioned, I crouch down and used a nearby stick to break-up some of the jams, instantly delighted by the reinvigorated flow of the water. Time stops - I'm not sure how long I was out there playing with the water, in the rain, in my pajamas, but it was totally satisfying!

I was creating flow-paths, patterns, releasing energy and was 'lost' in the moment - in essence, on my own spontaneous mini-retreat. While walking back up the driveway, I realized how rejuvenated I felt. My own inner-energies were flowing in a way that making a list didn't do - and really never will.

All this is to say - go ahead and play! Do something silly or child like. Break up those creative dams and jams. Let your energies flow and see what becomes of it!

Peace, Suzanne

FROM LISTS TO PLAYTIME

I made a promise to myself today…no work, just creative play. But as I sat down for lunch I found myself making a list of artsy things I wanted to accomplish. A list… Really??? When I make a list, I drive myself to complete everything on it and feel guilty for the things I missed. Then fun becomes a chore. I don’t need the stress of making a list for playtime.


Then I thought about the wonderful craft and mixed-media books I’ve bought and browsed through. I’ve waded into them at some point and put them aside for when I have more time to work with them. Should I choose one of them? Which one? Where am I in the book and do I need to accomplish the next step before moving deeper between the book covers? But again I found myself wanting to follow its list, a list of things that someone else thinks I need to be doing. Fun things to experiment with, yes, but with the goal of working toward an end product or a certain technique the author wants me to try. As a writer I am aware that exercises are created with an end result in mind – what is it that I hope my reader will learn or take-away from the experience? When I’m the reader, there are times like this when I feel confined by the author’s parameters.


Instead, I want to play with no goal in mind like I did as a child. All I had to do was gaze at all the goodies and gadgets and what-not I’ve collected and mix them up until something felt right. I had a drawer full of yarn ends, a well-used paint box, Barbie shoes, clothes pins, beads, bells and buttons, tokens missing their game board, and various odds and ends. Remember your play days? What were the things you collected as a child?


Today my drawer has morphed into an entire room with adult treasures: bubble wrap, cigar boxes, scrap papers, charms, a rainbow of pastels and paints, sculpy clay, bits of lace and metallic threads. The possibilities are endless!


So – what are we waiting for? The last one to the craft room is a hardened lump of glue!...


W